After a Midnight Meeting
by hobbesthebrainslug
Summary: Lady Kurenai assigns Naruto on a mission that could change his life!...In fact it does.NarutoXHinata pairing. also a small InoXChouji pairing.please leave reviews! thank you!
1. After a Midnight Meeting

**Note: **These characters are not my own. if you are familiar with the characters, this short story can go just about anywhere in Naruto. Preferably after the Genin exams. (also note, that perhaps this story may have actually happened, with Naruto and Hinata never revealing to the audience their love for one another). But it goes best after the chuunin exams.

This is also a test to see how long I can go without putting a fight in the story. Though later installments will have fights.

Oh yeah! I love reviews. Remember, be critical, not mean.

The new moon shined upon the Konoha village. The village was quiet with little activity, and even then only among animals. But in front of the local ninja academy, two people gather to converse.

The first woman, in her late twenties, is still very beautiful. Her rose colored eyes shone in the moonlight. The second was considerably younger, and smaller than the first. they shared the same raven colored hair but the young girl's eyes lacked luster, and pupils.

"You wanted to see me, Hinata?" asked the older woman.

"Yes Kurenai-sensei, its about…" Hinata paused, unsure of what she would say to the older woman.

"Its about him isn't it?" asked Kurenai, the older woman.

Hinata blushed and lowered her head "Yes"

"You have no need to lower your head, love is nothing to be ashamed of" Kurenai placed a finger under Hinata's chin and lifted it gently, "I was once in love when I was your age"

Hinata smiled "Then…maybe you can help me?"

"I can, but I can only bring him to you, you have to do the rest" replied the woman, smiling slyly.

"How will I know he will come?" frowned Hinata.

"You forget one thing dear, about being a woman" answered Kurenai.

"What's that?" replied Hinata.

"That a woman's plan always comes together" smiled Kurenai.

The sun shined upon the Konoha village, and a youth dressed in bright orange walked outside. He stretched and continued as a leisurely pace down the road. Looking at what there is to see, including his favorite ramen stand, and several pretty girls, most of which much older than he.

He crossed a bridge and entered a small area outside the village where the trees had been cleared, a river flowed gently alongside it. He saw three people standing there, and as soon as he entered, they glared at him.

The largest and oldest, his teacher. Had white hair despite his young age, he wore a facemask and held a book entitled "come to paradise" in his hand, a book Naruto would never be caught reading.

The second, a girl, had pink hair, her eyes were as sharp as daggers and they pierced his veins and his blood ran cold. She was pretty, but on the inside…well…

The third, a boy his age, with raven black hair and red eyes looked at him with disdain, almost expecting him to arrive at this time.

Which it came to his mind that, the boy in orange was extremely late to his class.

"Naruto" The girl with pink hair called to him "you're even more late than Kakashi-sensei" she nearly screamed at him, and pointed at the masked man.

"Don't worry Sakura" he wont be joining us today, he has been commissioned by a friend of mine" the teacher, Kakashi, spoke to Sakura without lifting his eyes from the book, he turned a page.

"Commissioned?" Naruto, the boy in orange asked.

"Yes, it seems that another Jonin, Yuhi Kurenai, has asked for your assistance, I have no clue what she wanted you for…" Kakashi handed Naruto a letter. Who opened it quickly.

Naruto

You'll have to excuse my handwriting, Cursive is difficult to read. I need you for a mission that I'm afraid I simply can't send my Genin on, nor any ninja for that matter, not even the Hokage Herself…

Naruto smiled, knowing that he could do one mission that even a Hokage was not capable of made him even more confident…and incredibly cocky.

It would be most convenient for you and I to meet in front of the ninja academy, I cant include details on the mission. But I can tell you it is the mission of a lifetime.

- Yuhi Kurenai

Naruto Grinned so big that his eyes closed, he cheered and jumped high into the air, and dashed off for the ninja academy.

"What was his rush?" asked Sakura.

In front of the academy the Jonin Kurenai stood, waiting for Naruto just like the letter said.

"Hello Naruto" Kurenai greeted him, she held a small bit of paper in her hand.

"Hey, what is it you want? I'm an important ninja and I got a lot of stuff to take care of" said Naruto.

"Oh…then maybe you are too busy to take care of this all-important, beyond Hokage-level mission? Hmm?" Kurenai teased him and smiled.

"Naw, if a Hokage cant do it, you can count on Naruto Uzumaki, Believe it!" Naruto gestured a thumbs-up with his hand.

Kurenai smiled, "Very well then, this note has on it an address, I want you to travel there and protect the person living there, she's in a lot of danger"

"She eh?" Naruto was hoping for a pretty young woman.

"Yes she, now go, if you don't arrive in time, I fear the worst for her" Kurenai looked into his eyes and smiled "And tell her, you're welcome"

"huh?" this left Naruto confused, but it was something between Kurenai and whoever he was protecting that day. He walked, then slowly began to run, to his destination.

He had arrived, this was a rich place, with a courtyard and sand garden. He approached the door. And knocked three times. The door slowly opened. A girl with jet black hair stepper out from behind it, she saw Naruto and blushed deeply.

"Hello Naruto, what are you doing here?" she asked, her voice quivering furiously.

"Well, I got this mission to come here and protect some girl, but you're the only girl here I think" Replied Naruto.

"Well…what does the note say?" asked Hinata.

"Its from Kurenai, hey, that's your teacher right?" asked Naruto.

"Yes…she is…maybe that girl isn't here yet, would you like to come in and have some breakfast?" asked Hinata, her voice had begun to calm down but it still contained a tiny warble. She knew now that Kurenai had set her plan into motion.

"I sure would!" said Naruto. Hinata moved herself from the doorway, letting Naruto in, she led him to the dining hall. They sat down on soft pillows on opposite sides of the table and began to eat.

Hinata was surprised at the rapid rate at which Naruto ate, he Devoured the food she cooked as if it were the food of the gods, he swallowed and paused to speak.

"Hinata, did you cook this?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, I did, do you like it? Hinata replied, already knowing the answer.

"I do! Believe it!" Naruto swallowed another massive mouthful and said "You think it would be alright if you could start packing my lunches for me? I could just come by and pick them up"

Hinata gasped and blushed to a radishy red color. "Well, I do end up cooking more than I really need to eat" she was flattered.

"Thanks a lot Hinata, this stuff is a lot better than what I usually eat" Naruto half ate and half talked "its usually spoiled"

"You poor thing!" for the first time in her life, Hinata felt sorry for Naruto, eating spoiled food, no wonder he was so crazy, he was malnourished. Hinata laughed at this thought.

"What's so funny?" Naruto paused from eating, a piece of rice clinging to his lip.

"You made…a mess of your face" Hinata took out a handkerchief and handed it to Naruto "On your chin"

"Here?" asked Naruto, placing the handkerchief on his cheek.

"No"

"Here?"

"No" Hinata, took the handkerchief from him and wiped his face, she could not help from stroking his cheek.

The food had disappeared. With Naruto cleaning several plates of food, and Hinata only one.

"I suppose a grand tour is in order?" asked Hinata.

"Sure, your place is huge though! I don't know if we'll ever get done with it!" Naruto replied, Hinata giggled at the joke.

She led him down several halls, showing them a long hall with several doors.

"This is where my family lives" said Hinata, lowering her head.

"No one seems to be here" said Naruto.

"one person is" replied Hinata.

A door opened and Hinata's cousin, Neji, walked out, he glared at Hinata, then at Naruto, then at Hinata again, and whispered something to himself.

"Hey! Who do you think you are! Say something to my face if you're gonna say it at all!" Naruto yelled at Neji, who ignored him and walked into the bathroom.

"Lets go to my room Naruto" Hinata suggested.

"Yeah, you can skip the entire tour, as long as he is wandering around" Naruto looked at the bathroom door, hoping Neji would come out.

Hinata led Naruto up the stairs, her room was surprisingly walled with plaster, making her room more impervious to sound. Naruto wondered what she needed to keep so quiet for.

A large bed with a bedside table rested in one corner of the room, and a wardrobe containing her clothes was set in another, aside from that, the room was rather sparse. Perhaps she spent more time outside. And Naruto did not blame her for a second.

"Wait here Naruto, I'll get us some drinks" Hinata said, leaving promptly.

Naruto could not speak before she was gone. He sat on her very soft bed and observed the room, his eye caught the bedside table. Upon which rested a picture of him, and a picture of Hinata. He picked up the two pictures and examined them, why would Hinata have a picture of him?

Before he could continue Hinata rushed back into the room with two tall glasses of lemonade, she handed Naruto a glass and began to sip hers from a straw. She sat next to him on the bed. He blushed a little, Hinata was a pretty girl, but not like Sakura, she had a different sort of beauty.

"Hinata, I was assigned to protect someone, and the place I was supposed to go was here" Naruto broke the awkward silence.

Hinata's heart skipped a beat "Well, I have no idea who you're supposed to protect, but if you're supposed to protect a girl, that is to say, I'm the only girl here…" said Hinata.

"Oh, so you're saying that maybe you're the person I'm trying to protect" said Naruto.

"Yes, but from whom I don't know" Hinata knew there was no enemy, it was Kurenai's womanly plan.

Naruto jumped up "Then Hinata! I swear to protect you from any threat. BELIEVE IT!" Naruto gave his signature thumb up. Hinata was taken by surprise by this and fell backwards on her bed, she was bright red in the face.

"Hinata, you okay? Hinata?" Naruto leaned over Hinata.

"I'm fine Naruto, you surprised me" replied Hinata. Her heart was racing,

"Oh, I'm sorry, ha-ha, I can't protect you if I'm giving you heart attacks" Naruto grinned a big grin. Hinata giggled and sighed.

There was another awkward silence until Hinata asked Naruto "Naruto, would you like to play a game?"

"Sure! I love games!" Naruto piped up.

"Here" Hinata opened the drawer at her bedside table, she reached in and next to a brightly colored journal she got out two cups, she poured their contents out. Ten small dice. She handed five to Naruto and told him to put them in the cup. She shook her own cup and placed it face down on the ground.

"Do the same" said Hinata, she blushed again, she felt somewhat in control of him now that she was teaching him something.

Naruto cast the cup on the ground "Now what?"

"We guess what was rolled, I'll guess three fours" Hinata answered.

"I'll say…five fives" Naruto said.

Hinata giggled "that's a dangerous play, you could lose, thankfully you get another chance". Hinata picked up her cup to see what she rolled, but was careful not to show Naruto, her Byakugan could see through his cup, and she saw three fours, exactly what she needed.

"My second guess is six fours, now you see your dice and make another guess" Hinata put her cup back down.

"I'm going to say…five fives again" Replied Naruto.

Hinata lifted her cup, revealing two fives, and three fours. "Now its your turn".

Naruto lifted his cup, revealing three fours, and three fives.

"Ha-ha, we both win!" said Hinata.

"That's fun, its like a shinobi game of deception!" said Naruto "lets play again"

"All right" agreed Hinata.

They played several more rounds, Hinata looked at her clock.

"Oh no! it's Lunchtime" said Hinata "Do you like ramen noodles?"

"I'm still hungry from breakfast Hinata, you bet I want some ramen!" replied Naruto. Hinata nodded and quickly walked downstairs to prepare the food.

"Now that I have some time, I can look at her stuff" Naruto whispered to himself.

The nosy Naruto opened the drawer in her bedside table. And removed the journal. On its cover was taped a picture of him.

This was seriously creepy. He opened the book, and found that on every single page he is mentioned, sometimes he took up the entire page, sometimes only one sentence, but he was in it. Neji was mentioned as well as Hinata's father, but most notations about them were negative at best. He did not find one negative thing about himself.

A question came through Naruto's mind. Did Hinata set this up to spend the day with him? He heard Hinata coming up the stairs and quickly shut the book in her drawer.

She held a small wooden plank with two piping hot bowls of homemade ramen soup.

Naruto feigned a grin, he was creeped out by Hinata before, now he was even more uneased by her.

She handed him a bowl of the ramen, he slurped the stuff up quickly, and laid back on her bed.

Hinata thought about this moment all her life, to lay down next to Naruto and place a hand on his chest, but she could not bring herself to do it before he sat back up. When he did she had begun to blush again at the thought, her heart fluttered.

He got up and looked at the blushing Hinata. He in turn blushed, now that he knew what she thought of him. They looked at each other, blushing.

Neji called from the dining area "Cook dinner Hinata"

"Lets go, we can talk while I cook" said Hinata.

"Okay" said Naruto.

The two went downstairs to cook, Hinata began to take out various pots, pans and other cookware. Naruto sat at the table.

"I don't feel like cooking for my family, I'll just make them something instant" Hinata giggled at her act of rebellion.

"Yeah, they don't deserve good food like yours, believe it!" Naruto said. His words seemed to give her strength. She got out the cheap instant ramen and placed it into a larger pot, and the more expensive exotic ramen into a smaller pot.

The water had begun to boil sooner on the smaller pot, so Hinata and Naruto ate first without even calling the rest of Hinata's family.

Hinata's father came to dinner and took from the larger pot with the cheap ramen, he tasted it and gave Hinata a disdainful look "so you fail at more than ninjutsu I suppose, cooking and choosing your men" he said and grinned.

Naruto stood up quickly "How DARE you talk about Hinata that way! How DARE YOU!" Naruto's eyes burned with intense hatred.

"You stay out of this boy" said Hinata's father "you would not understand, to understand requires you have a family" Hinata's father smiled, that struck a chord in Naruto.

Naruto was about to leap across the room and rip her father's throat out. The nine-tailed fox was releasing its pent up rage.

"Don't Naruto!" Hinata held Naruto's hand and that seemed to soothe the beast trapped inside him. Naruto sat down. Hinata's father smirked.

Hinata slurped the last few drops of her soup and took Naruto back upstairs.

"Why do you let them treat you like that Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"Because I know they can belittle me all they want, but in the end, I'll be better and stronger than any of them will ever be" Hinata clenched her fist.

"So you wanna be Hokage too?" asked Naruto.

"Yes…I do, very much" replied Hinata.

"Then you have some serious competition, believe it!" Naruto jumped and pointed his thumb at his face" cause I'm gonna be the next Hokage, and no one, Sasuke, Sakura, Kiba, Shino, Neji, or even you will stand in my way." Naruto boastfully added "BELIEVE IT"

"Well Naruto, even though we strive for the same goal, I'll cheer you on" said Hinata.

"And I'll do the same for you Hinata, believe it!" said Naruto.

The sun was setting and Naruto's "mission" was going to end soon. Hinata remembered Kurenai's words.

"I'll get him to you, you have to do the rest" they echoed in her head.

"Naruto, there's something I want to show you…"Hinata whispered, her voice quaking.

"Yeah? Where to?" Naruto replied. Hinata stripped the sheets off her bed and grabbed the journal out of her bedside table. She led him downstairs and into the courtyard, out into the forest to a rocky outcropping on the side of a mountain, the sun had just barely set.

"Naruto, this is what I want to show you" she showed him the book, but Naruto pushed it away.

"Hinata, I looked at that book while snooping around your room" he replied.

Hinata's eyes welled up with tears, did he know too much? Would he reject her when she told him the truth. Hinata could only choke on her words.

"And I want to read the rest" Naruto took the book in hand and placed it on his knees.

"Hinata laughed, that was the only sound she could make, even if it was the wrong one…

"If I had known that you and only you believed in me, and for so long…I would have talked to you, I would have had a friend in this world" Naruto's voice had changed, what was usually sounding like a school child trying to be gruff, was now very soothing to Hinata. "And I know you feel the same way"

Hinata cried out "Naruto! I love you!" her heart began to race.

Naruto took Hinata's hand with such tenderness it would make even an ice princess like Sakura melt "I love you too"

The two laid back on the rocky outcropping, surrounded by a soft blanket, Hinata placed a hand on Naruto's chest his heart was beating as fast as hers. Naruto quickly sat back up and said "Look!"

It was a sight that the tall buildings of Konoha village usually blocked, but the sun was setting slowly beyond the horizon as the last sliver of the sun was becoming hidden Hinata Turned Naruto's head and kissed him.

Her soft lips were almost intoxicating to the touch, Naruto did not stand a chance, and he gave into her. They laid down, kissing tenderly.

"So, today, if it was you I was protecting, was it from your family?" asked Naruto.

A female voice sounded from the shadows "Actually, I thought her poor little heart would break if you didn't know how she felt for you, so she was technically in danger, well done Naruto, your mission is a success"

Kurenai walked onto the outcropping. "Well done Hinata, mission successful". Hinata blushed, she now had what she wanted, the love of her life, and the acceptance of her teacher.

"I'll leave you two alone now, buh-bye" said Kurenai, leaping high into the trees and bounding into the night.

"Hinata, I've been thinking" said Naruto.

"Yes?" replied Hinata.

"Well, instead of just coming by your house to pick up the lunch you made, maybe we could just meet and have lunch together?"

"Yes, I would not have it any other way!" Hinata kissed Naruto again and they laid down on the cold rock, warmed by each other's bodies.

_Not the end…_


	2. A New Friend of Mine

Dawn broke over the Hyuuga residence. And then the light began to creep over the entirety of Konoha village. A scream sounded from inside the paper-thin walls of the Hyuuga household.

Neji Swung at Hinata hard, sending her reeling back into the wall. He stepped up to her and tapped her cheek. The tap was all he needed, it damaged her inside and made her nose bleed.

"You stay away from the fox-boy" he said "Unless you wish to shame the Hyuuga family even more than you already have".

"Neji…" Hinata was quaking.

Neji walked away "Don't you dare see him again"

Hinata got up after several minutes and picked up her lunch and Naruto's lunch. She also picked up her pack and walked to her team's training grounds. Nervous that Neji may have been watching or listening.

"So Naruto, what was your mission yesterday?" asked Sakura.

"Super secret ninja stuff, stuff only a potential hokage should know" said Naruto.

"Dream on Naruto, so what happened?" she asked again.

Naruto growled "I had to go to the Hyuuga place" he said "And protect Hinata"

"Hinata? What in the world for?" Sakura replied.

"That's the weird part, I think Hinata and her Sensei set it up so Hinata could tell me she liked me" said Naruto.

"Hinata likes you?" Sakura could not help but laugh. "She must really suck at choosing men"

"Don't say that about her!" Naruto retorted.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you liked her too" Sakura Giggled.

"Well Sakura, I do like her" Naruto blushed and looked at the ground.

Sakura burst out laughing. "I bet you two _love _each other"

"We do! Believe it, I may be a ninja master, but I still have a soft side!" Naruto yelled at her.

Sakura could not help her laughter.

Kakashi listened to the entire conversation. "So that's what lady Kurenai wanted with you, good work Naruto, Hinata is a good catch"

"At least Kakashi-Sensei agrees with me" Naruto said.

"Well Naruto, its lunch time, you can go see Hinata now, but I'm afraid you and her will have to share lunches, you didn't even bring one today" said Kakashi.

"I know, Hinata cooks my lunches now!" replied Naruto.

"Like I said Naruto, Hinata is a good woman" Said Kakashi "now go, I don't want to keep her from you"

Naruto dashed off to where he and Hinata agreed to meet.

"Hinata, you weren't here yesterday, what happened?" Kiba asked, his puppy Akamaru Barked.

"Kurenai-Sensei had a special mission for me" Answered Hinata.

"Oh that's cool. I hope it trained you hard Hinata" said Kiba.

"Thank you Kiba, I think it helped me a lot"

Kiba smelled a strong scent of food on Hinata. "Hinata, did you pack a second lunch?"

Hinata blushed "Yes, I did"

"Is it for me? Or Akamaru?" Kiba said, Akamaru whimpered.

"I'm afraid not" said Hinata "But Akamaru can have a little of my lunch" she giggled and Akamaru yipped.

"So you did pack for two people! Let me see!" Kiba wrestled the poor Hinata to the ground and took the lunches out of her backpack. He saw that one was labeled "Naruto"

"What!? Why is this for Naruto? You spent all day yesterday with him didn't you?" Kiba shouted.

Hinata cringed and said "Yes, its for Naruto, and I did spend yesterday with him"

"Why!? He's bad news, you should stay away from him!" said Kiba.

Kurenai overheard. "Kiba, leave her be, you wouldn't know what its like to be a girl in love"

"IN LOVE!?" Kiba nearly screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Yes, and Hinata, you can go and give Naruto his lunch" Kurenai said.

Hinata cheered and began to walk to where she would meet Naruto.

The wind rustled several leaves on the cement path, a bench and table rested off to one side.

A boy wearing bright orange walked down the path in one direction, and a girl with a white coat and pale lavender eyes walked down the opposite path, when she saw him she started running.

"Hi Hinata!" shouted Naruto. Hinata did not answer, instead she charged into him and hugged him, nearly knocking him over.

"Naruto, you came I knew you would" she whispered, her head resting against his chest.

Naruto stayed quiet, he put his arms around her and squeezed her to him. He smelled the lunches on her. "Can I have some of that?"

"You sure can, Hinata took his hand and led him to the bench and table, where she got out their lunches.

"No ramen?" said Naruto.

"You know we have to heat that up first, if you don't like it I can just…" Hinata wandered off in her words.

"No! I love it please don't stop cooking for me" Naruto begged.

Hinata giggled and her heart fluttered, she had no idea that he would beg for her food. She sighed and leaned against his shoulder. "I don't want this to end" she said.

"Neither do I Hinata" Naruto put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. The two were so rapped up in snuggling one another that they barely ate their lunch.

Naruto looked at his watch. "I'm sorry Hinata. But I need to go back to my squad"

Hinata sighed "Okay"

"I'll walk with you for a bit after we finish, meet me here" Naruto said, and got up.

"Okay" Hinata got up and began walking to her squad, blowing him a kiss.

Naruto had never seen anyone do that, the kiss hit him squarely on the cheek. Hinata giggled and ran off.

Naruto touched his cheek with his hand.

Both Naruto and Hinata could not concentrate on their training, they kept thinking about each other until their sensei's dismissed them, they met at the place where they had lunch.

"Hello Naruto!" shouted Hinata.

"Hey there Hinata!" replied Naruto.

They hugged when they got close and walked together. Naruto took Hinata's hand, she blushed and leaned against him.

"Hinata, if Neji or your father ever hurt you, you can stay at my place, I live alone" Naruto said.

"Thank you Naruto, but I don't think I'll need to" he kissed him "but I'll come visit you on free days!"

"That would be great Hinata" said Naruto. "Its awful cold alone in my bed" Naruto grinned.

Hinata's Heart skipped a beat, to sleep with Naruto and be that close to him. She blushed madly. Naruto grinned and laughed when he saw her face.

They walked and snuggled until they came to a fork in the road.

"I have to go left Naruto" said Hinata.

"Aw, I have to go right" replied Naruto.

Before going down their separate paths, Hinata stood on her toes and kissed Naruto. Naruto reached around her body and held her close and Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck. Their bodies swayed back and forth, making the kiss wax and wane.

Naruto opened his eyes during the kiss, expecting it to end soon. Hinata continued holding Naruto and opened her eyes and looked into his. Naruto could feel Hinata's byakugan searching deep into him. He looked deep into her pale lavender eyes. They were haunting to behold, but they were beautiful.

They began to loosen their grips around one another, until they were not kissing and simply looking into each other's eyes.

"When we walk home, kiss me like that every time we split up" Hinata said, her cheeks had flushed pink.

They let go of one another and walked down their roads.

It started to rain lightly, Naruto could not help but spin on some of the sign posts on the way home. He hummed to himself.

By the time Naruto made it home, it was raining heavily. He worried about Hinata and the rain. He went inside and hung up his coat.

Hinata skipped home, fancy free. She went out of her way to skip through puddles. She sighed with pleasure nearly every ten steps.

She reached the gates of her house.

She could not enter, she simply stood at the gates in the pouring drizzle. She remembered what Neji did this morning, if he found out what happened today, he might try to hurt her even more.

She turned tail and walked toward Naruto's house.

Naruto had made himself instant ramen. When he realized that he didn't have any pictures of Hinata yet! He finished his soup and went upstairs to get a camera. He reached into his closet and retrieved a beat up 45 millimeter lens camera and walked downstairs to place it in his bag.

He unzipped his bag and slipped the camera in. as soon as he zipped the bag back up there was a knock on the door. As light as it was, it was there.

Naruto was surprised to see a waterlogged Hinata standing at his doorstep.

"Hinata! What are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"Can I come inside?" asked Hinata.

Naruto let her in and closed the door behind her.

"Hinata, there's some dry clothes in that trunk over there" he pointed at a dusty trunk. "I stole them when I invented my sexy-no-jutsu"

Hinata giggled. "Is there a place to change?"

"Umm, my room I guess" Naruto pointed to the stairs.

Hinata dug through the trunk and found an outfit to wear she rushed upstairs with it. Naruto could hear her drop her clothes onto the floor, each plop of the wet cloth slapping the hardwood floor. Knowing that there was a naked girl in his room made him blush.

She came out, Naruto blushed. Thinking her a tomboy, Naruto was surprised to see her in a dress. Hinata was wearing a black dress that went to her knees.

She twirled in place, making the dress flow around her body "What do you think?"

Naruto swallowed "You're really pretty in that Hinata"

Hinata blushed and took Naruto's hand "I smell food cooking"

"Yeah, I was just making a little for myself, I'll give you some" Naruto said.

Hinata went over to the pot and tasted a spoon of the ramen. "This needs a little adjusting" she said. She walked over to a cabinet and rummaged through it. She took out several jars that Naruto could not see and shook them into the pot and tasted again. "That's much better"

Naruto could only look at her, and at the dress that flowed over her body.

"What should we do while we wait for the pot to boil?" asked Hinata.

"I…uhh" Naruto stuttered. Hinata walked up to him and touched his chest and pushed him onto the couch. Naruto was taken aback by this move, as Hinata wouldn't be this forward with him normally. She kissed him, continuing to push against him, until Hinata was nearly in his lap, and nearly laying down. Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto like they did at the fork in the road, around his neck.

The pot began to boil over. The hiss of the boiling water could be heard as it struck the stove top.

"Oh no! I forgot!" Hinata broke off the kiss and turned off the stove, and removed the lid on the ramen. She poured out into some for each of them and sat next to him, giving him a bowl.

"Here you go, its really hot, so let it cool down" Hinata placed her bowl on the coffee table to let it cool. Naruto did the same and put his arm around Hinata. She leaned against him and sighed. Naruto kissed the top of her head. She looked up and kissed his cheek. He blushed. Hinata snuggled against Naruto and giggled, listening to his heartbeat. Naruto laid back, it was a matter of seconds before they began sleeping.

Naruto woke slowly, their ramen had gone cold. Hinata was clutching to his arm.

Naruto tried to wake Hinata "Hinata, wake up"

She opened one eye sheepishly and looked up at him, "what time is it?"

Naruto looked at the clock, it was almost midnight. "Midnight! We need to get in bed, I'll walk you home"

Hinata clutched onto his shoulder harder "No, you go to bed, I can handle myself" she said with a grin on her face.

Naruto kissed Hinata one last time and walked upstairs. He undressed to get in the shower. He simply rinsed off his body, he didn't own any shampoos or soaps.

He dried off and got out. Wrapping the towel around his waist. When he opened the bathroom door to his bedroom. Hinata was sitting on his bed in a black nightgown.

Naruto dropped the towel.

Hinata turned bright red, then dark red. She covered her eyes and fell back on the bed. Naruto hurried to replace the towel.

"Hinata! What are you still doing here" Naruto shouted.

"I was thinking Naruto, its been getting worse…" Hinata replied.

"What has? What's worse Hinata?" Naruto asked.

"This morning, Neji…" Hinata could not continue. She simply got up and ran into his arms. Naruto moved his arm and the towel fell again. Hinata blushed almost purple and slowly backed away.

"I hope you have some bedclothes" Hinata said.

Naruto hurried to get on his pajama pants. He walked over to Hinata, taking her hand and leading her to the bed. She sit down and scooted to her side. Naruto joined her on his side. Hinata drew the blanket around them and came to Naruto, kissing him gently and placing a hand on his chest and another around his neck.

Naruto closed his eyes and kissed back his arms wrapped slowly around her waist and stroked her back. Hinata rubbed her hand against Naruto's chest, feeling his muscle ripple underneath the flesh.

Naruto kissed Hinata down to her neck and gently licked and bit her. She sighed and blushed, gently whispering "Naruto"

Naruto stopped kissing for a moment and whispered on her neck "Hinata" his warm breath creeping around her shoulder.

Naruto awakened in Hinata's arms, Hinata awakened soon after. They looked into each other's eyes.

"Hinata?" said Naruto.

"Yes Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"I want to wake up like this every morning, staring into your eyes"

Hinata blushed "That can be arranged"

They squeezed each other hard and got out of bed. Hinata went to take a shower, a fold in her nightgown hiked it up and showed her bare bottom.

"Drafty Hinata?" asked Naruto and giggled.

Hinata pushed the gown down, not turning to face Naruto to hide her blushing. She closed the door behind her and Naruto walked downstairs, her wet clothes created a puddle in his room. And downstairs on the table there were two cold bowls of ramen.

Ramen was no longer Naruto's favorite thing.

_Will this thing ever end? I hope not._


	3. No Power Like Ours

No power like ours

Justin David

Naruto rinsed the two bowls of ramen out and placed them next to the sink. Hinata slowly descended the stairs in her nightgown. She walked up behind Naruto and kissed his neck.

"Good morning my love" she said. Naruto turned around and kissed her.

"You mean great morning" he said to her. Naruto wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist and kissed her, holding her close to him. They broke off the kiss and held each other for a long time.

"you know Naruto, I have today off" said Hinata.

"me too!" Naruto replied "we should spend the day together"

Hinata smiled "that would be nice" Hinata giggled a little, she thought 'we've spent the last two days together already, why not one more?'

"Naruto, I have a crazy idea" Hinata said, smiling.

"What's that?" asked Naruto.

"maybe…I could move in with you" Hinata blushed and smiled very big, but she lowered her face away from his gaze.

"You know Hinata, I would love for you to move in with me" Naruto smiled as well.

Hinata buried her head in his chest and sighed. "now that you have me living here, we need to make this place more homey"

Naruto tilted his head, much like a baby fox.

They had dressed in their street clothes quickly and Naruto was being led around by Hinata around the village to various stores. She stopped in front of a shop, the clashing scent of lavender, peppermint, and chamomile poured from the store's front door.

"Now Naruto, you have no soap in your shower" whispered Hinata "I would like it very much good if you smelled nice for me"

She dragged Naruto inside the store and smelled several bars of soap. She filled a small basket with them and went to the cash register.

"get out your wallet Naruto" said Hinata.

Naruto gasped. "What!?"

"You're doing this for me, so get it out you're going to pay for this" Naruto grumbled and pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed the cashier a small stack of bills.

"now for the next store!" Hinata giggled. Naruto grumbled again. Naruto thought to himself 'I never thought Hinata to be a gold digger'.

She ran into a scented candle store and had her bag filled before Naruto could catch up. His jaw dropped as Hinata brought him to the register. She leaned near his ear and whispered "thank you, I'll make it worth your while"

Naruto melted and under a will not of his own, paid the cashier.

"I think that's enough for today" Hinata said, kissing Naruto.

Naruto's heart dropped and fluttered at the same time. Then his stomach growled.

"all the more reason to walk home and have some lunch" Hinata smiled. Taking Naruto's hand they walked back to Naruto's house. With his other hand, Naruto carried the bags.

Hinata had never been so frightened in all her life.

As they walked along the cement where they met for lunch yesterday. A boy with pale lavender eyes stepped out on the path before them…Neji! He stared at them intensely.

"What do you want?" said Naruto.

"it's not you I have business with fox-demon" Neji snorted back "its your little friend"

Hinata whimpered and backed behind Naruto.

"if you hurt one fucking hair on her head…" Naruto could not even describe what he was going to do to Neji, he simply stood there for a few seconds and then shouted "believe it"

Neji smiled "in that case, that's two fools I need to destroy" Neji got into the battle stance of the Hyuuga clan, a loose back-stance. As Naruto put his fists up, Hinata got up by his side.

"Hinata, I don't want you to fight" Naruto said "Neji could seriously hurt you, don't you remember what happened?"

"I know Naruto, but that's not going to happen this time. I know that by your side…I have the strength to do anything"

Naruto nodded and turned to Neji "are you ready?"

"I've been ready for this…for a long time" Neji smirked. Naruto charged at Neji and his fist flew towards Neji's face. Neji quickly grabbed the fist in his palm and twisted it, Sending Naruto flying. Naruto got up quickly and brushed himself off.

"Naruto, it is futile, I will not all you to win to me a second time, and your woman simply can never defeat me, you hear that?" Neji smirked.

"You're wrong Neji… you're so wrong" Naruto looked Neji straight in the eye "I thought I could teach you that destiny is false, that anyone can change their path in life, but you never learned. All people can grow and become stronger. And when I look at Hinata, her body rages with strength, I feel it when I hold her and it flows into me when I kiss her"

Hinata smiled and blushed. Naruto was not one to speak such poetic words.

Naruto concluded "I bet, Neji, that Hinata could defeat you without any help, Believe it!"

Neji gritted his teeth and showed them "perhaps it is you who have not learned"

"well see" Naruto made a sigh with his hands "shadow-clone-no-jutsu"

There was a blast of smoke that cleared after several moments, Neji was surrounded by Naruto, not just surrounded, Naruto was everywhere, in the trees standing on walls. Naruto had made several dozen copies of himself, and they stood all around him, Neji could not look anywhere without seeing Naruto.

"if you didn't stand a chance before" all the copies said in unison "then imagine how badly you're going to lose now!"

"what was that smoke?" Sakura asked, pointing at the large cloud that formed near the academy.

"I don't know, I want to look at it, maybe that's where Naruto is" said Sasuke. He stuffed several Kunai into a leather pouch and ran toward the smoke. Sakura was not far behind him.

"Lee, do you see it?" Ten-Ten said.

"is it Neji? I cant seem to find him anywhere!" replied Rock Lee.

"I have no idea, we should investigate"

"Roger"

"Shino! That's where Hinata is, I know it!" Kiba shouted, Akamaru whimpered and looked at the smoke. Kiba was shaking Shino's shoulder, Shino shook limply but seemed to ignore it.

"Very well then, if she is in danger, we'll help her"

Kiba ran on all fours toward the billowing cloud of smoke, Shino close behind.

Kurenai kept quiet, but she followed suite.

The Naruto's on the ground charged Neji, those not on ground level jumped high in the air, each one had a kunai in hand. Neji reacted quickly, with such speed and grace that it hypnotized Hinata. Neji's feet and hands flew into the face or chest of every Naruto clone. Each clone dispatched released a large puff of smoke. Hinata watched, terrified at Neji's skill. She could hear footsteps behind her. As she turned around, she saw Kiba and Shino running toward her, Kurenai behind them.

"thank dog you're alright" Kiba said, he wrapped his arms around Hinata "I would never live it down if I let you get hurt" Akamaru yipped and growled.

"what is it boy?" said Kiba. He released Hinata

"look, at the smoke" Shino pointed into the smoke cloud. For a brief moment a shape could be made out, but only barely. Naruto flew out of the cloud. And landed hard.

"you're with him again!" Kiba shouted. He looked at Hinata, teeth bared.

"yes Kiba, but if you knew what he's done for me, you would want me to stay with him"

Neji walked out from the cloud and pointed at Hinata "you're next" he maintained a sidelong glance to the three people standing, the one he had just defeated was no longer a concern.

Hinata whimpered and stepped forward, lowering her head.

"Hinata, what are you thinking!" Kiba shouted.

"Let her go" said Kurenai.

"But Kurenai-sensei, she'll get killed" Kiba shouted at Kurenai, Akamaru whimpered.

"Don't worry Kiba, I can see something inside her body, something none of us can explain" Kurenai knew her womanly plan had come through, but what she didn't predict was that it would come down to such a battle.

Sasuke and Sakura arrived from the same path as Kiba and Shino. Rock lee and Ten-Ten from the other direction.

"what's going on?" shouted Sakura, laying her eyes on Naruto "Naruto!" she shouted, kneeling next to him and got out a roll of bandages to dress his wounds.

"Hinata, you've shamed not just the main branch, but every single branch of the Hyuuga family for years. And I've come to set things right and return the honor to our family name" Neji said "I'm going to kill you"

"Neji, its not just me…the real reason the family is having such problems is you and the other members of the lesser branches!" Hinata replied.

Neji growled. Hinata activated her Byakugun, which could see the inner thoughts as well has his chakra channels.

"I see, that deep inside you, and what I see is a great deal of pain and suffering. You're more torn up about this feud than any other member of our family. And you've chosen me as a scapegoat, simply because you're jealous of my place in the family."

Neji growled harder and lowered his eyebrows, he bared his teeth.

"you recognize this trick?" Hinata said "it's the exact same one you used on me at the chuunin exams, and now I'm using it on you. Just now you arched your eyebrows inward, at that moment you were wondering if I had grown anymore, and if I had, was I strong enough to defeat you…Neji, I will tell you now that yes, I'm much stronger than you could possibly imagine, and yes, I will defeat you today." said Hinata, her words were aggressive, but her tone was soft, yet unyielding.

Naruto whispered under his injuries "go get him Hinata"

Neji screamed and charged in blind rage. Hinata was able to move out of the way and dodge the vicious attack. Hinata plowed her knife hand between Neji's hip and ribs, literally tearing apart the organs underneath.

"Ten-Ten, why is Neji being so aggressive? He's never like that" asked Rock Lee.

"Hinata has worked him up into a frenzy" answered Ten-Ten.

Neji turned around, his lips dripped with saliva. He charged again, only to be parried and countered by Hinata. Her knee driving into his gut.

Neji collapsed, Hinata backed away as Neji got up.

"there's one thing you forgot, Hinata" Neji licked up the blood flowing from his lips. "that I have one attack no one can block…or dodge, and that's all you're doing, just running away like a scared rabbit" an explosion of chakra filled Neji's body and he spun so quickly it gathered loose dust and leaves to him. The heavenly spin. The whirling cloud moved slowly toward Hinata.

Hinata moved her arms very slowly around her, but soon they moved quickly around her, becoming a blur. Her palms left shining lines of chakra in their trail, soon her arms could only be seen from where they stopped and turned to a different path. The lines of glowing chakra created a shining sphere around her.

Neji's heavenly spin smashed into Hinata's sphere. They began to clash against one another, neither side giving way.

Naruto stood up "wow! Where did she learn that one?"

"That's the power of a woman in love" said Kurenai.

Several minutes after the clash began, the dust around Neji began to fall away from him, as his spinning slowed down, Neji fell onto the concrete, completely unconscious. Hinata stopped as well, she fell to the ground. Naruto ran to her to pick her up in his arms.

"Naruto, did you see me?" asked Hinata.

"Yeah Hinata, you were amazing" said Naruto.

Hinata raised her head to kiss Naruto. Kurenai and Sakura began to slowly applaud them. They were joined by Sasuke and Shino. Rock Lee and Ten-Ten began to applaud as well, they had defeated the strongest member of their team. Kiba was the last person to begin clapping. Akamaru barked.

"Naruto?" Hinata whispered amidst the clapping.

"yeah?" answered Naruto.

"Lets go home"

_The End, I'm serious this time_


	4. A Secret, Kept Hidden Away

Kiba's carried a forlorn look as his legs carried his body home. He knew he had waited too long…He knew he was too late.

Kiba hung his head low, Akamaru licked his cheek and whimpered.

Kiba entered his house and hung up his coat, shaking his brown hair as a dog would shake water off of it's body. All was quiet, his family might have been out hunting. He walked slowly to his bed, Akamaru leaped from his shoulder and walked to his own bed, spinning in a circle before nestling himself down.

Kiba looked at the ceiling for a long time before he fell asleep, whispering the word "Hinata" over and over again

Kiba's sleep was restless…but he had an idea…maybe he wasn't too late? Maybe if Hinata knew how he felt.

It was decided, no turning back!

"Hinata!" Kiba shouted, running toward her.

"Oh, hello Kiba" Hinata smiled, petting Akamaru when Kiba got close enough.

"Hinata, I was wondering if you were interested in getting some barbequed pork after training today" he smiled.

"that would be nice, can Naruto come with?" Hinata smiled. Kiba frowned.

"no, this is a special team-building exercise, sorry" he said.

"okay…" said Hinata, she felt something might be up.

The two trained hard with Shino that day. Kiba took special care to aid Hinata whenever he could.

After Kurenai dismissed them, Kiba walked Hinata to a nearby restaurant near the edge of town.

"Is Shino coming?" Hinata asked.

"I didn't invite him, its just you and me…and Akamaru" said Kiba.

"oh…" Hinata knew something was up, but she didn't want to break her promise to Kiba.

The two ordered their meals, and ate heartily. Hinata occasionally gave a piece of her pork to Akamaru. Smiling as she watched the puppy eat. Kiba could only look longingly at her. She took notice.

"Is something wrong Kiba?" she asked.

"no, nothing's wrong" he blushed.

"that's good" she said. A voice sounded from a different part of the restaurant.

"yo! Kiba!" it was Shikamaru and Chouji.

"hey guys" replied Kiba.

"whatcha doin' with Naruto's girl?" asked Chouji.

"just treating her to some food before she goes home" Kiba replied.

"okay, just don't let Naruto catch you with her! You remember what happened last time you two got into a fight?"

Kiba gritted his teeth "don't remind me"

Hinata giggled quietly.

Shikamaru and Chouji left. Soon the tab came for their food. Kiba paid and the two left.

"That was fun Hinata, what do you say we do it again tomorrow?" said Kiba.

"I'm very sorry, I have some plans with Naruto tomorrow, how about the next day?" replied Hinata.

"Sure thing!" Kiba set his plan into motion.

Hinata entered her new home, Naruto was lounging on the couch waiting for her.

"Hey Hinata! How was training today? You're a little late home" he greeted her, holding out his arms in an offer to snuggle. Hinata laid down next to him and felt his warm arms wrap around her.

"well, training was good, but something strange happened today…" Hinata blushed.

"What's that?" asked Naruto.

"Kiba…kind of asked me on a date…and we had some food" Hinata blushed deeper, not in embarrassment, but in shame.

"haha, well, I'm sure Kiba doesn't mean anything serious. I bet he just wanted to have some lunch with his most favorite team mate" Naruto said. Hinata smiled and wiggled to inch closer to him.

"you're probably right" Hinata said.

The next day Naruto took Hinata out to the rocky outcropping where they first kissed. They were going to sleep overnight there.

Naruto walked into the woods to find some firewood after setting up the tent. Hinata unpacked the camp stuff. She placed the flint and tinder next to the ring of stones Naruto constructed for the fire. Then went inside the tent to set up. She blushed when she realized that Naruto only packed one sleeping bag.

Naruto soon came back, several shadow clones of himself carried thick logs, which he then set aflame. He pulled a blanket from his pack and threw it around He and Hinata.

"Naruto, I'm so happy!" she smiled and stroked his cheek.

Naruto grinned and held Hinata. "me too"

Hinata's back was to the fire, when she felt it become uncomfortable she turned and warmed her front. Naruto gasped as her extremely warm back and backside came into contact with his chest and belly. Naruto spooned with Hinata. Soon his hands found their way to the inside of her thighs. Hinata moaned quietly.

"Hinata?" Naruto said.

"yes?" she answered.

"I was thinking…maybe tonight you and I could…you know…" Naruto blushed.

Hinata blushed deeply and turned to kiss him and stroke his cheek.

"Naruto, you know I love you, but I don't think I'm ready for that…" she answered.

"oh" Naruto stroked Hinata's hair "It's okay"

Hinata smiled and kissed his neck "but I'll let you know as soon as I'm ready for you"

Naruto grinned. "I love you Hinata"

Hinata blushed "I love you too"

Soon the fire had gone out and it became bedtime. Hinata and Naruto entered theier tent to change into their bedclothes. Hinata removed her coat and undershirt and unsnapped her brassiere with her back turned to Naruto. She didn't blush anymore when she was half naked around him. If Naruto asked she probably would have slept naked with him. But she slipped in her nightgown before he had a chance.

She turned around and saw Naruto, shirtless and grinning at her.

"hehe, what's the grin for?" asked Hinata.

"I thought you might like to see a little" Naruto answered. She blushed, moving her hands to his pectorals and caressing his torso down to his abdominals. Scooting toward him, she kissed him as they slipped into the sleeping bag together. The fit in the bag seemed to be a little tight, which forced the two together.

Not that either of them minded.

It seemed to be too soon before the next day came. The two packed up and went back home, then stored all of Naruto's camping gear in a shed.

Hinata realized today was the day she had to go meet Kiba.

"Naruto, I'm going to go shopping" Hinata said.

"for what? Should I come with?" Naruto asked.

"umm…Girly supplies" Hinata blushed, raising her hand to her lips.

Naruto laughed and nodded "oh"

She left in a hurry and brought her purse along with.

Kiba was waiting at their training ground for her. Hinata slowly approached.

"hey there, Hinata!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru didn't appear to be with Kiba.

"hello Kiba" Hinata said in a rather uncomfortable voice.

"are you ready to go out?" Kiba asked.

"of course!" Hinata smiled and perked up a little.

Kiba took Hinata to a fancy clothing store, selling dresses.

"Pick one out Hinata, where we're going, we're not gonna' get in with clothes like these" she blushed and smiled. Kiba was certainly being nice to her lately…

"when you have one, meet me at the changing rooms"

Kiba left to the men's section while Hinata was left to look through a selection of Kimonos. Eventually she came to a white one, with a dragon embroidered along the back, curling and following the neckline.

She changed into her new dress and walked out, seeing Kiba in a suit made her blush and giggle. Kiba gawked a little.

"Hinata, you're beautiful" he stuttered. She blushed and dropped her eyes.

"thank you" was all she could say.

Kiba walked Hinata to a very fancy restaurant high on the face of the cliff that the hokage's heads had been carved into. He opened the door for her.

"do you have a reservation young man?" asked the person in front.

"Inuzuka" said Kiba.

The woman checked a clipboard "right this way"

Kiba and Hinata were seated next to a window that provided a view of the entire Konoha Village. Soon enough dinner was ordered and eaten. They conversed over empty plates and virgin sake.

"Kiba, this is wonderful" She said

"even more so with you, Hinata" Kiba replied.

"Kiba…" Hinata said "why are you doing this?"

"Hinata…" Kiba sighed "there's a lot of things I've needed to tell you for so long…and I've never had the courage to say anything, until now…"

Hinata frowned, she knew what Kiba was going to say.

"Hinata…I love you" Kiba said. Hinata's expression changed to sorrow.

"Kiba…I love Naruto already, I can't return your feelings…"she said.

"but…let me show you how much I love you! Spend the night with me" Kiba looked at her desperately.

"you know I can't do that Kiba" she sighed.

"it'll be easy! Just call Naruto and say Shino and I surprised you and we're spending the night in the forest training" Kiba offered.

Hinata looked out the window with a great look of despair "okay Kiba…"

Kiba jumped and cheered, drawing an awkward look from the other restaurant patrons.

Hinata called Naruto, who approved of her training with Kiba and Shino…but would have completely objected to what Hinata was really doing.

Hinata had a bad feeling about this.

Kiba brought Hinata up to his room.

"wait here, Hinata. I'll go change"

Hinata broke a tiny sweat while waiting for Kiba…Kiba emerged from his bathroom.

He was dressed in black tight boxer-briefs. Hinata gasped and stood up, marveling at his body. He was a work of art straight from the workshop of Michelangelo. His body was even more muscular than Naruto's! and the tight underwear he was wearing wrapped around his massive package.

Hinata could only stare while Kiba's body rippled with muscle as he walked over to her, taking her hand to stand her up.

"Hinata, let me show you how much I love you" he took her chin gently and lifted her lips to kiss him. His arms snaked around her waist and down her back…they slowly began to lift her dress…

_Oh my goodness, a cliffhanger…_


	5. Hinata Sets Things Right

"Kiba, no!" Hinata shouted, pushing Kiba away.

"Hinata…" Kiba whispered.

"Kiba, I can't…I can't let you do this, I shouldn't have even come here!" Hinata ran from Kiba's room and out of his house. She kept running toward home.

Turning a corner she bumped hard into someone. The boy had a coat with a tall collar and dark sunglasses. She recognized him immediately. It was Shino!

"Hinata, what are you doing out so late? Naruto will be worried." Shino said.

"oh Shino" she hugged him.

"you were with Kiba weren't you?" he said.

"how did you know?" Hinata looked into his sunglasses.

"after your battle with Neji the other day, I thought it might be a good idea to keep track of your position" he picked a beetle up off her coat "and my little friends like how warm your coat is"

Hinata could only continue to hug Shino. Shino put his arms around her. Hinata gasped.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't have any feelings for you Hinata" Shino said.

"but why did this happen?" Hinata asked.

"Kiba…is wild and uncontrollable" Shino answered "he can't help himself at all…once I found out about you and Naruto I decided that I should probably find another girl. Kiba is not so easy to simply give up"

"what should I do Shino?" she whimpered.

"you have to talk to Naruto…it may be too late" he said.

Hinata let go of Shino and ran to home.

Hinata carefully opened the door and walked inside. She went up to the bedroom to change, and was horrified to see Naruto.

"Naruto…I…" Hinata stammered.

"don't even try to explain yourself Hinata, Shikamaru and Chouji told me all about what you did with Kiba" Naruto's expression was one of rage "They told me about your little meeting with Kiba at the barbeque restaurant so I asked them to keep an eye on you, they came back to report to me when they saw you go into Kiba's house"

Hinata fell to her knees and cried. "Naruto, I can explain, please"

"Hinata, I cant believe you. I take you from your abusive family, let you into my home, buy things for you…and this is how you repay me" a tiny red aura was around Naruto"

"Naruto, no! that's not what happened!" Hinata begged, salt water streamed from her lavender eyes.

"Hinata, please get out of my house" he said.

Hinata inched away "Naruto…"

"go!" he shouted.

Hinata fled from Naruto's house, tears running down her face.

Naruto turned and gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut, but he could not keep the tears from rolling down his cheeks and into his hands.

He removed his coat, everything that had come to light had tired him drastically. He trudged upstairs to get in bed. But as he opened the door. He saw a boy standing near the foot of his bed. He was wearing a grey coat with a tall collar and dark sunglasses…

Where could Hinata go? Not home, Naruto had kicked her out. Staying with Kiba might only make the situation worse. And they might very well kill her if she returned to the Hyuga estate.

There was Shino's house…and Kurenai-sensei's. Kurenai-sensei's house might be best out of those two. Staying with not one boy, but two? Naruto would never take her back then.

Kurenai opened her door when she heard a knock. She was slightly surprised to see Hinata standing there.

"What happened Hinata?" asked Kurenai.

"I made a mistake Sensei…" Hinata whimpered and wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Come on in, I'll make us some coco" Kurenai let Hinata in and walked to the kitchen where she brewed up the hot chocolate, and handed a mug to Hinata.

"so what happened?" Kurenai asked.

"well, it started when Kiba asked me out to lunch after training one day…then he invited me to dinner on another night and told me he loved me"

Kurenai stroked her hair "poor girl"

"Then when he tried to…have his way with me, I pushed him away and ran home to Naruto, but he knew all about what happened and threw me out of the house! You're the only person I could see without making the situation worse"

Kurenai lifted Hinata's chin much like she did on their first meeting. Kurenai felt as if she was staring into a mirror of herself. "when I was your age Hinata, I was loved by many boys…"

Hinata sobbed…"what happened?"

"the original man I loved never forgot me…but I forgot him…by the time I was ready to accept him, he had already married and moved away, I cant let the same thing happen to you"

"so you're saying it's not too late?" Hinata whimpered.

"its not too late, but it will be very difficult for you" Kurenai said "like before, I can only bring the players together, you have to do the rest"

Hinata hugged Kurenai Tightly "Thank you so much sensei!"

"you're welcome Hinata, now lets get you a place to sleep for the night"

Kiba was filled with rage and jealousy. He almost had her! Why didn't she submit?

Then it hit him.

She didn't want him because she thought Naruto was stronger than him…

He would show her how strong he was compared to Naruto…it would be simple Darwinism, survival of the fittest. The staple mentality of the Inuzuka clan.

Naruto stared at the boy in his room. Recognizing him as Shino.

"Naruto, I need to tell you something about Hinata" said Shino.

"I know what happened, Shikamaru and Chouji told me all about it" snorted Naruto.

"what they saw and told you isn't the entire story" Shino retorted.

"then what did happen? And how do you know more about it?" said Naruto.

"during training I planted a beetle on Hinata to keep track of her. I'm able to hear what the beetle hears" Shino answered "I heard Kiba tell Hinata he loved her, then silence, then Hinata shouted and I heard the door slam…later I bumped into her as she was on her way here"

Naruto gripped his forehead "dammit!" tears began to flow from his eyes. "I was to hasty in judging her"

"Naruto, do you love Hinata?" asked Shino.

"yes!" answered Naruto.

"then you'll understand what happened and take her back. Hinata did what Kiba asked because she did not want to hurt him. Hinata is the kind of person who wants to make everyone happy. But even she was able to stop herself when Kiba overstepped his bounds with her…she just needs to learn to say no every so often"

Naruto nodded "if I had just let her explain herself…this wouldn't be happening"

Shino looked out the window. "I must be off now, remember what I said…it would be best for both you and Hinata if you took her back"

Shino left Naruto's house and bounded off into the night.

The next day, Hinata woke up on a cot next to Kurenai's bed, she had awakened and was writing Hinata's mission briefing.

"Hinata, today is going to be difficult for you" Kurenai said, not lifting her eyes from the paper "you have to confront both Kiba and Naruto to set things right, today you're going to talk to Kiba"

Hinata sighed, looking nervous.

"don't worry Hinata. It'll be alright" Kurenai said "I'll be close by watching"

Hinata nodded.

Hinata met Kiba near the administrative building the hokage works in. positioned on one of the roofs was Kurenai, ready to step in if things got violent.

Kiba and Hinata stood a few feet from each other.

"Kurenai asked me to speak to you" Kiba said.

"yes…we need to talk about what happened last night" Hinata replied.

"why wont you be with me?" Kiba asked "what does Naruto have that I don't?"

"Kiba…last night…all you seemed to want was my body, you didn't really care about me, at least not in a romantic way"

"what the hell do you mean?" Kiba bared his teeth.

"well, you attempted to have your way with me the first night we were together" Hinata said "Naruto has only recently asked if I wanted to make love…and he accepted my refusal"

Kiba looked at the ground. "what can you see in him, I must be far better mate than him. I come from a rich and popular family, and I saw how you marveled at my body last night"

"Kiba, ever since I saw Naruto in class he's been my inspiration. It was Naruto who drove me to become a ninja and gave me the determination to stand up to my family. My love for Naruto is more than just wanting his body"

Kiba fell to his knees, he couldn't believe what he was hearing…but every word of it was true. He didn't see Hinata walk up to him. She took his shoulders and stood him up onto his feet.

"Kiba, you're my best friend. I know you care about me and I care about you too" she hugged him "but its wrong to try and take someone else's lover" she smiled "besides Kiba, someone like you should have no problem finding a nice girlfriend of your own! After all, wolves are hunters, not scavengers"

Kiba smiled and hugged Hinata back "thank you Hinata" he decided that he wouldn't fight Naruto. But he would have to talk it out with him.

That day, Naruto set out to look for Hinata and tell her he was sorry. Things at his house were very quiet without Hinata.

And those two nights were cold too…very cold…

The next day (after Hinata had spoken to Kiba), Naruto woke up to a letter on his bed. It was from Kurenai.

Naruto

I deeply apologize for what happened between you and Hinata. I need to show you something very important. Come to the rocks where you kissed Hinata for the first time.

Kurenai.

Naruto got dressed and headed to the rocks.

"Hinata, this is the day you talk to Naruto, are you ready?" asked Kurenai.

"yes, for better or for worse, I have to stand up to the person I love" Hinata sighed.

"I wont be going with you this time" Kurenai said. "I know Naruto will never hurt you"

"It's not Naruto hurting me that I'm afraid of…" Hinata breathed. "its him never taking me back"

Naruto waited at the rocks…he remembered everything that happened here. Their first kiss to their camping trip the day or so before.

Kiba walked out onto the outcropping from the treeline.

"what are you doing here?" asked Naruto.

"I came to apologize" Kiba replied "for trying to take Hinata from you"

"why did you do it?" Naruto asked.

"because…I thought I truly loved Hinata…and I thought she was the only girl for me…" Kiba lowered his gaze.

"Kiba…it's okay" Naruto said.

"really?" Kiba said.

"yeah…I'm sure someone like you can find a nice girl like Hinata! Believe it!" Naruto have Kiba a thumbs-up.

"Naruto" Kiba hugged him "thank you, and please take good care of Hinata"

With that Kiba was gone.

Naruto continued to wait for Kurenai…but it was almost nightfall and no sign of her. Eventually, he saw Hinata walk out from among the trees.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted.

Hinata cringed and closed her eyes. She didn't see him running up to her to hug her.

"Hinata, I'm so sorry I didn't give you a chance to explain yourself" Naruto sobbed. Tears dripped from his chin and splashed onto Hinata's back.

"I'm the one that should be sorry Naruto…I should have never gone with Kiba that night" her tears soaked into Naruto's coat.

They stood there, holding each other for a long time.

Hinata looked up at Naruto, her pale eyes filled with joy.

"oh Naruto, this will never happen again" Hinata whispered.

"don't worry Hinata, it won't" he replied.

"take me home Naruto" Hinata said.

"I can't…I'm supposed to meet Kurenai-sensei" he answered.

"haha, good Naruto, always focused on the mission" Kurenai jumped from atop a tree. "I vaguely remember a meeting like this one." she chuckled.

"Thank you Sensei" Hinata said.

"you're welcome Hinata" Kurenai said "your father said I was in charge of you after all"

Naruto smiled and looked at Hinata.

"well, I need to go, I have an appointment with…Iruka…" Kurenai blushed. Naruto grinned and laughed.

Kurenai leapt off into the forest. Leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

"oh Hinata, you make me so happy!" Naruto whispered, happy tears began to flow from his eyes.

"Naruto…I want to camp out here for another night, please?" Hinata said.

Naruto smiled "you bet!"

Naruto took Hinata home and for the first time in perhaps three days, they slept together. Their bed was warm again, thanks mostly to Shino and Kurenai. Things back to the way they were, it felt so right for both of them!

_I've decided this thing isn't going to end for a while. Expect more where this came from._

_Sorry Kiraichi, no sexings yet!_


	6. Chouji and Ino Talk

Clear skies and a bright sun lit up the day in Konoha. Somewhere atop one of the buildings two genin waited for their sensei.

The first, a young girl, was very thin. She wore a short purple dress and her torso was covered in bandages (though she did not appear injured in any way). The second, a large male, wearing a green coat and trunk shorts. Both of them bore the traditional headband of Konoha Shinobi, the headband bearing the seal of the leaf.

Things were quiet, not much dialogue between the two was exchanged. One spoke to break the awkward silence.

"First Sakura with Sasuke…and now Hinata with Naruto…I don't know, I think all of the good men in this village might be taken already" the girl said. Her name was Ino Yamanaka. The fat boy, Chouji Akimichi, perked up to listen.

"are you talking to me?" said Chouji

"of course I am, there's no one else here…" Ino answered.

Chouji put a chip back in the bag "keep talking then"

"well, I always figured I was better at things then Sakura was…but seeing Naruto and Hinata fight Neji that day…if Naruto was doing that well, then Sakura must be just as good, I mean, she's better than Naruto, right?" Ino seemed to be babbling, but Chouji was carefully listening.

"I don't know what I should do, maybe I'm destined to be man-less" Ino whined.

"Ino…" Chouji said "don't say that. You have no idea who has eyes for you and who doesn't…it may be someone you least expect. Besides, I can tell you have something that makes you just as good as Sakura, you just haven't mastered it yet"

Ino looked at Chouji quizzically. Chouji got up, it was getting late and their sensei hadn't even bothered to arrive.

"what? What do I have?" Ino said. Chouji turned and pointed at her chest.

That night, Ino walked home and had dinner with her family. She kept thinking about what Chouji had said. That night she talked to her father.

"dad…my teammate Chouji said something to me that was weird…" Ino said.

"what's that?" asked her father.

"well, he said that I was talking about Sakura when he said that I'll never know who has eyes for me…and then he said I have something that I never mastered, but when I asked him what it was…he just pointed at me…" Ino answered.

Ino's father laughed. "well, when I was on a team with Chouji's father, he said odd things too, but they always seemed to make sense later on. Don't worry hunny, Chouji has a big belly, Just like his father."

**(Note: **_In eastern culture it is said that the belly is the center of emotion, they would say expressions like "big belly" or "black belly" in the same way that a European or American says one has a "big heart" or "black heart" _

Ino smiled and looked at her father. He must have absorbed the wisdom of the Akimichi.

"thanks dad" she said.

Ino and Chouji met again alone…their sensei had once again neglected to arrive. Chouji sat closer to Ino.

"I'm sorry for dumping all of my dumb girl drama on you yesterday Chouji…being a girl can be hard sometimes" Ino looked at Chouji, who sighed.

"You know, it doesn't have to be…" Chouji said.

"what do you mean?" asked Ino.

"sometimes we think that one thing is better than something else because it simply looks better. But once we have that thing, we realize it may not be what we wanted"

Ino couldn't speak.

"Ino…You've been a good friend to me, Sakura could never imitate that" Chouji said.

"oh! Chouji!" Ino threw herself on Chouji, knocking him back onto the padded bench. Chouji was taken a little by surprise, but he put his arms around Ino all the same.

Ino was surprised, she used to find Chouji's bulk to be ugly. But up close she found that it was very warm and cuddly, like a large stuffed animal! She wiggled to get closer to Chouji.

Chouji blushed and smiled. Laying his head back and closing his eyes.

Ino laid her head on Chouji's chest and heard the lub-dub of his heart.

That was it! That was what Chouji was talking about! Ino hadn't mastered her heart yet! She never actually loved Sasuke, she was simply motivated by his looks. Where being near Sasuke made her heart feel distant and alone, Chouji's heart made her's feel warm and loved, something she could never have from Sasuke.

She looked up "oh Chouji…I love you" she whispered.

Chouji smiled "I know…I love you to Ino"

Ino reached up to Chouji to take his head into her hands and pull it down into a soft kiss. Chouji tightened his arms a little around Ino. Her tiny body was wrapped in loving warmth. Chouji stroked her long beautiful hair, combing her ponytail with his fingers.

It seemed to be the summer of romance in Konoha.

_Darn…I feel lonely now TT_


	7. A Look Into the Future

The next few weeks were quiet for Naruto and Hinata. They trained as always, lived together, shopped together. Not a lot came along to bother them. Neji left them alone, but still held his normal animosity. Kiba had become more of a brother to Hinata, and they had even gone to his house for dinner a few times.

One morning Naruto awakened to the pleasant sight of Hinata's peaceful sleeping face. He kissed her forehead and got dressed, she began stirring as he began to descend the stairs.

He began frying up some sausage and hash browns. Soon enough the smell permeated the whole house and drove Hinata downstairs.

"how are you doing today Hinata?" Naruto asked and smiled. Hinata was wearing her little black nightgown.

"its wonderful Naruto" she walked up and kissed him softly on the lips. They held each other while the sausage and hash browns sizzled. Hinata nuzzled into Naruto's chest.

Soon enough, breakfast was ready, they filled their plates and sat on the couch next to each other. Hinata leaned into Naruto who laid back with her in his arms.

Naruto took a bit of sausage and held it in front of Hinata's lips. She took it in her teeth gently and pulled it out of his hand. She did the same, letting Naruto suck on her finger a little.

They kept on feeding each other until breakfast had been eaten. Naruto picked up the plates to rinse them and brush his teeth. Hinata hurried up the stairs to get into the shower first.

Naruto placed the dishes next to the sink and ascended into the bathroom. He opened the door and saw Hinata in the shower, her nude form was blurred by the etched and frosted glass window. So she looked more like a mosaic than a girl.

On the other side of the window, Hinata blushed hard. She knew that Naruto could not see her nude body in any detail, it was the fact that he might join her…not that she would mind, however.

Naruto quietly brushed his teeth and hummed, waiting for Hinata to come out from the shower.

"Naruto, could you throw me my towel?" asked Hinata.

"sure" Naruto tossed Hinata's white towel over the glass door. She quickly dried herself and wrapped the towel about her body, covering her bust. Sliding open the glass door and stepping out of the shower, she blushed when Naruto looked her body over.

"You've seen it before Naruto" she smiled and blushed.

"I never want to stop seeing it" he stepped toward her and picked her body up in his arms to kiss her.

Hinata didn't even notice that Naruto's hands were holding her up by her bare bottom. She was enveloped in the kiss. She realized where his hands were as he set her down and blushed hard again.

He grinned "it's soft"

She couldn't speak, but her hands moved around his waist and into his shorts.

Needless to say, Naruto was a bit surprised and aroused. A bulge began to form in his shorts. Hinata smiled and closed her eyes as Naruto wrapped his arms around her.

"Hinata…" he whispered. Hinata cooed in response.

"Does this mean…you're ready for me?" he asked. Hinata looked up at him with a hint of embarrassment and sympathy.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but we're so young…" her eyes watered a little, she hated the fact that she might be disappointing Naruto.

"its okay Hinata" he tightened his arms around her "I won't pressure you into doing something you don't want to do…I love you too much for that"

Hinata smiled and dried her eyes. "Thank you Naruto" she leaned her head on his chest. Naruto smiled and stroked her raven black hair. Hinata pulled him down near her lips.

"but that doesn't mean we cant be sexy" she smiled and blushed.

Naruto grinned "that's something I can live with. He gave her a little spank and stepped into the shower, also teasing her with a little hip-gyration before sliding the shower door closed. She giggled and walked to the closet.

Dressed in her typical thick winter coat and black pants, she went downstairs. And lounged on the couch. At her family's house she might have been severely scolded if she got caught lying around. She closed her eyes and laid her head back on a soft pillow. Not as good as Naruto, but good enough for the moment. She sighed with happiness and stroked her hair.

It was very quiet in Naruto's house, except for the shower noise upstairs. She enjoyed the quiet until she heard a knock on the door. Choosing to ignore it and relax a little more, a letter was soon pushed through the mail slot.

Naruto finished up his shower and walked downstairs.

"hey, what's that?" Naruto asked.

"a letter, I was too busy to read it" she smiled. Naruto picked up the letter and laid down on the couch. Nestling between Hinata and the back of the couch. He opened the letter while Hinata nestled onto his shoulder.

_Dear Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuuga Hinata_

_You two have been commissioned for a joint mission between the two of you. You are to meet Hokage Tsunade at the administrative building at 1:00 Pm._

_PS: this letter was written on your porch, we know you're in there, you're lucky we didn't barge in and interrupt whatever you were doing that you thought was more important than the mission._

Hinata giggled and blushed when she read the Post Script.

"well, lets go see Tsunade-sama." Naruto said.

"no" said Hinata.

"why not?" asked Naruto. Hinata didn't answer, she rolled over and kissed Naruto on the lips, wrapping her arms around his neck. He stroked her back and hair. Hinata's hands moved up his neck and into his hair, her fingers fondled every little spike of hair on his head. She giggled and kissed Naruto at the same time and he stroked his soft hair.

Soon, the two were cuddling. Hinata laid facing Naruto while she laid her head on his shoulder. Soon enough the two were taking a cat nap on the couch. When the time came, they went to report to lady Tsunade.

Naruto opened the door into the hokage's office. Hinata walked nervously in.

"good to see you Hinata and Naruto, Tsunade leaned her head on one hand as if in bored and the arrival of Hinata and Naruto mildly amused her. She made a motion to two padded chairs signaling them to sit.

After Hinata and Naruto had seated, Tsunade retrieved the mission briefing papers.

"to practice for when you each possess your own three-man team as jonin, you have been assigned a team of ninja trainees from the academy. You and your team will be airlifted via zeppelin to a remote area. You must remain in the area until a certain amount of time has passed so we may airlift you back to Konoha." Tsunade spoke in a very commanding tone, as if she were a general. "this mission will test both your ability to survive and your ability to manage a team"

Hinata and Naruto nodded. Tsunade's expression softened.

"and it might also be good practice for the future, eh?" Tsunade smiled and Hinata blushed. Naruto blinked and looked about, rather confused.

The three kids they were assigned were a boy names Sasume, a girl named Yuuki, and another boy named Hideyoshi.

Naruto had never seen a vehicle like the one he was getting on. It was a massive balloon with a building attached to the bottom. As he boarded, he noticed that there were other genin teams, he saw Kiba with Shino, Ino and Chouji, Sakura and Sasuke were here too. Sakura called to Naruto.

"Hey! Naruto!" she ran to him and gave him a hug "it's been a while"

"haha, it has. Me and Hinata have been training hard together though" Naruto said. Hinata blushed and held her hands behind her back in a bashful pose.

"this thing is crazy, does this belong to the leaf country's military?" Naruto asked.

"this vehicle is called a zeppelin" Sakura said "it was developed by the sand and wind nations. Maybe Gaara had a part in it's design"

Naruto smiled "maybe"

Sakura smiled and winked "how are you and Hinata"

"we're better then ever" Naruto grinned "believe it!" Hinata blushed.

Everyone was instructed to take a seat with their teams. Naruto noticed that Sasume was staring at him.

"you're mister Uzumaki, right?" Sasume said.

"yeah, what about me?" Naruto said.

"mister Uzumaki, you're my hero!" Sasume hugged Naruto "I would ask for your autograph, but I forgot my book"

"that's alright, you can get my autograph after the mission" Naruto smiled. Hinata apparently wasn't his only fan. It made him wonder what other trainees admired him.

Hinata held Naruto's hand as the zeppelin lunged into the air. She moved with the lunge and leaned on Naruto. Their team giggled.

Perhaps a few hours later, a chuunin entered their cabin and put harnesses on them. He then dropped a long rope down into what appeared to be a jungle. They rappelled down into the deep canopy…

Naruto was first to land, he caught his other team members as they landed and helped them out of their harnesses. The harnesses were taken by the chuunin and the zeppelin flew out of sight.

They were alone.

Naruto looked about at where they were dropped. It was a small artificial clearing in the jungle that allowed the sun to shine through. They were not given much supplies due to the rules of the mission. All they had were their clothes, Kunai, and perhaps three days of food. A week if they ate sparingly.

It then hit Naruto that they had no idea how long it would be until the mission ended.

"First we're going to need some shelter, Sasume, use your Kunai to cut some thin branches off of these trees. Hideyoshi, Yuuki, cut some of these large leaves off the branches." Naruto ordered. Hinata smiled, seeing Naruto cool in this situation made her more confident.

"what should you and I do?" asked Hinata.

"we'll clear off the spot where we'll be staying, grab a branch" Naruto said, taking a branch in hand and clearing the fallen leaves off of the ground. As they cleared the ground and revealed the rich brown earth underneath, Hinata and Naruto saw bugs skittering away from the light and surface.

Soon enough, Sasume, Yuuki, and Hideyoshi returned with what they were ordered to bring. Naruto leaned the branches against the trunk of a thick tree and using a vine, lashed the branches to the trunk.

Over a short amount of time, Naruto lashed more branches to the structure, occasionally having the trainees and Hinata go for more braches or leaves. And soon enough it was finished, Naruto stood back and admired his the fruit of his labor.

"it's wonderful Naruto" Hinata said. The kids cheered at the finished project. Naruto put his arm around Hinata. She leaned on him.

The sun had not completely gone, beyond the horizon yet. But Naruto could see storm clouds gathering.

"it's going to rain soon" Hinata said.

"then we'll have to build a fire" he gathered some of the extra branches Sasume had cut and took them into the hut, Hinata followed after. Naruto broke the branches into smaller pieces and stacked them up. He then started striking two kunai together to create some sparks. Soon the hut was lit up with a warm fire.

It began raining outside. Soon it became obvious that this mission was going to be miserable. They had nothing to sleep on, the next day they would have to find something to keep them warm other than their clothes.

The kids slept in one side of the hut, while Naruto and Hinata cuddled in the other. Their bodies kept each other warm through the night, and soon they were asleep.

Thunder and lightning blasted the sky and Naruto could feel something trying to wiggle between he and Hinata. He opened his eyes to see what it was. It was the girl Yuuki.

"what are you doing?" asked Naruto.

"I'm scared of the lightning" she said. Another blast from the sky came and she curled up against Naruto and closed her eyes. Hinata cooed and put her arms around Yuuki, protecting her from the lighting.

"it's okay Yuuki" she said. Yuuki calmed down a little bit and fell asleep. Naruto grimaced. He didn't like the idea of something getting between him and Hinata. But given the circumstances, it seemed to be all right. He laid down with Yuuki and Hinata.

Later, Naruto felt something else coming up from behind, he turned around and saw Sasume.

"you don't like the lightning either?" Naruto said.

"no…I had a bad dream" Sasume blushed.

"fine" Naruto said. He let Sasume in with them.

Soon enough, Hideyoshi was trying to get with them too.

"you too?" Naruto said.

"its cold over there" Hideyoshi said.

Naruto grumbled and let Hideyoshi in between him and Yuuki.

It wasn't so bad, Naruto thought, at least it was a bit warmer than just with Hinata.

Things were sunny the next day, everyone woke up a bit slowly. The rain had soaked into the ground around their hut, but didn't leak in. as they emerged, the saw the leaves shine with the rainwater that was left on them.

"its beautiful" Hinata said. The kids nodded. Naruto put and arm around Hinata's waist as they looked at the leaves glisten in the sunlight. Naruto kissed the top of Hinata's head.

"should we have some food and look around?" asked Naruto.

"sure" Hinata said, nodding her head. She got a few dango from her pack and handed them to the kids. They walked out into the forest.

"Tsunade said something funny about this mission Hinata" Naruto said.

"what was that?" Hinata said, she looked at Naruto.

"well, she said that this mission was practice for the future…I thought it was a little weird" Naruto said.

Hinata blushed and put a finger up to her lips.

"do you know what she meant?" Naruto asked.

"well, maybe someday when we're grown up…you and I could have children of our own" Hinata took Naruto's hand.

Naruto thought about it for a moment, he had never thought of having his own kids before. But having kids with Hinata sounded like a nice idea…he thought about all the things that came before kids too, like marriage, and.…

He blushed. Hinata took notice and giggled. She leaned on him, smiling.

Eventually they came to a river nearly roiling with fish.

"wow! This will make catching some food for us easy!" shouted Naruto. He dove in, scaring away the fish nearby. Dive after dive, Naruto and the kids could not seem to catch a single fish between them.

Hinata rolled up her pant legs and entered the water very slowly. The veins on her temples bulged, showing that she was using her sight beyond sight, the byakugan.

As the fish swam about her ankles, the other watched and marveled as her hands moved. It all looked like normal to her, but Naruto and the kids saw her hands only when they stopped and began moving in another direction. It was amazing.

By the end of the day, Hinata had caught enough fish for a long time!

"tonight, we eat like kings!" Naruto cheered, the kids cheered with him.

"a cheer for Hinata!" Yuuki shouted. The kids and Naruto gathered around Hinata and with a great "huzzah!" they lifted her in a way that their bodies made a seat for her.

That night they roasted the fish over a fire and ate heartily. It seemed that Hinata could help on missions, despite what her father always said about her.

Naruto put his arm around her as they ate around the fire.

"you're amazing Hinata" he whispered. She kissed his cheek.

"thank you Naruto" she leaned on him and took a bite of hr fish.

It was three weeks before the zeppelin returned and picked them up. Tsunade rappelled down to see them. She gasped when she say their campsite.

"this is just… amazing!" she said. They had done so much in only three weeks. And all in the name of living in comfort!

"yeah, I'm a little sad to leave it" said Naruto.

In a couple minutes they were harnessed up and on the zeppelin.

"mister Naruto?" Sasume asked.

"yeah?" Naruto said with a smile.

"lets do that again! Real soon!" Sasume said, Yuuki and Hideyoshi nodded with cute smiles.

"that would be wonderful!" Hinata said.

"sure, but give me and Hinata some time too!" Naruto put his arm around Hinata. The kids giggled.

The other teams looked rather ragged compared to Naruto's. they were getting a lot of dirty looks. Naruto just smiled and waved.

The zeppelin came landed with a heavy thud and everyone unloaded. The trip seemed pretty uneventful overall. The kids returned to the academy (through some strange coincidence, Iruka was their teacher.)

It was time again for Naruto and Hinata to sleep in their own bed. Their bodies were rather stiff from sleeping on the ground. As they slipped into bed, they somehow both found themselves contesting for the middle. Naruto's arms wrapped around Hinata and rolled her on top of him. She lowered her head and kissed him gently.

"hey Hinata" said Naruto.

"yes?" she said.

"if…when we do have our own kids…would they have the Byakugan?" Naruto asked.

"they should…our Kekkei Genkai has carried on to the children of those who married outside the family" she giggled "I'm sorry Naruto, they'll all have my eyes"

Naruto smiled "that's fine, your eyes are beautiful" they kissed, keeping their eyes open.

"Naruto, I don't know if you know how happy you've made me" Hinata said.

He stroked her hair "I don't know Hinata…but I'm sure it's a lot!"

Hinata giggled.

"you make me so happy too Hinata" he nuzzled her forehead "and I know there's even more to come"

"oh Naruto!" she wrapped her arms about his neck and kissed him passionately. When the kiss ended, Naruto stared deep into Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata, lets not talk about the future anymore" he said.

Hinata gasped "why not?"

"if we spend too much time thinking about what will happen, we'll miss all the days before that" Naruto said, stroking Hinata's back "lets enjoy every day we can together, without having to worry about all that stuff"

Hinata smiled and laid her head into Naruto's chest. Soon they were asleep. Tomorrow would be another day.

_Time in a bottle baby…time in a bottle…_


	8. Parted

Hinata could not believe that Naruto was gone…but just like that, he left.

It's not like he could help it, he had made a promise to Sakura. The last words Naruto said were etched into her being.

"_Hinata, I need you to be strong for me when I'm gone, I wont be back for a very long time. But I'll come back to you! No matter what!"_

Hinata slept alone in their bed, in a quiet house. She began to sob.

Hinata went to training the next day with Shino and Kiba. She found herself very fatigued early in the day. She could not make her body do what she wanted. She fell in the middle of a mock battle.

"Hinata, are you all right?" Kiba ran to Hinata's fallen body.

"I'm alright, just a little tired" she said.

"go home and get a little rest Hinata, this whole Naruto leaving ordeal is wearing you out" Shino advised. Hinata frowned and looked at the ground, she cried herself to sleep the night Naruto left. She was about to cry right now.

Kiba kneeled next to her "Hinata, it's very hard for all of us, but Naruto said to be strong for him, it's tearing me apart inside knowing that you're feeling this way"

Hinata hugged Kiba "thank you" she sobbed a little. Kiba hugged her back, and soon Shino joined them. Hinata was like a sister to them, she knew they both loved her very much. Soon she was feeling better.

"get some rest at home Hinata, you wont improve at all if you keep training tired" Shino said. Hinata nodded and began walking home.

On her way she heard a loud pounding noise, much like bare flesh hitting wood. As she kept walking it got louder, soon the trees she was walking through opened into a clearing where she saw three other genin.

The first was a pretty girl, wearing a pink dress and shorts that wrapped tightly about her thighs, she had never really talked to her, but Hinata recognized Ten-ten well enough. Another one there was a very thin boy dressed in a silly looking green jumpsuit, Naruto named this one fuzzy brow for his thick eyebrows, it was Rock Lee!

The third…she knew all too well, his long brown hair was bound at the end. And his white eyes marked him as a member of her clan…Neji Hyuuga…

"Hinata! Where are you going today?" Rock Lee shouted.

"I was heading home, Shino said if I push myself any harder today I might hurt myself" she smiled at him "so I'm going home to rest"

"you should and train with us and Gai-Sensei some time! I'm sure while training with us and your own team, you'll be really strong when Naruto comes back!" Lee gave Hinata a thumbs-up, but he then put it down "but you know, we don't talk too often"

Hinata looked at Neji, who gave her a dirty look. There was a reason she didn't talk to them too much.

"I'm sorry I don't do that Rock…but I need to go, perhaps I can train with you tomorrow though?" Hinata said.

"I'll get you bright and early in the morning! Be ready!" Lee said. But Hinata had already began walking away.

When Hinata had gotten home, it was only ten or so minutes between closing the door, cooking and eating some ramen noodles, and crashing in the bed. She didn't even bother to remove her clothes.

Rock Lee was pounding on the door Hinata looked at the clock, four in the morning? That was much too early for her to get started. She would need a little coffee or something to get worked up.

"come on Hinata, we're leaving right now" Lee shouted through the door.

So much for that idea.

Hinata slowly got out of bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She descended and answered the door.

"good too see you up Hinata!" Lee said. Ten-ten and Neji were behind him. Soon they were on the road to their destination.

"where are we going?" Hinata asked.

"we're going to swim a ways up the river, Gai-Sensei said if we can get where the river meets the mountain, our endurance would more than double!" Lee looked enthusiastic.

"Gai-Sensei is one for telling very tall tales" said Neji, giving both Lee and Hinata a scowl.

The river flowed through a canal in Konoha village. Ten-ten summoned some sort of strange living suit of armor to carry their packs while they swam. They stripped to their bathing suits and dove in.

With the endurance of Shinobi, it wasn't a hard task to swim all the way to where the river met the mountains in one day. But such a task wears even the toughest ninja out. They set up camp just as the sun was falling beyond the tree line.

"that was wonderful. Good work, tomorrow will be very easy for all of us, next time we have the river to help us out" Lee smiled and gave a thumbs-up. Soon they had eaten and gone to bed.

Hinata could not sleep, every time her eyes closed, Naruto stared at her from behind her eyelids. She quietly got up and went outside the tent. Her stirring disturbed Neji, who followed stealthily.

A waterfall marked where the river flowed down from the mountain and into the valley where Konoha village was. Hinata walked up to the pool the waterfall created and began to slip off her clothes. Neji his behind a rock, wondering what she was doing.

Once she was naked, she moved into the water and laid down. The way the waterfall fell onto the pond made waves on the pond much like one might find at the beach. The waves hit her body as she moaned quietly.

"oh…Naruto…Naruto…" she whispered. Her head lolled slowly back and forth as the cold water surged over her body, retreated, then surged again.

"Naruto…" she whispered again. Neji was shocked and disgusted at this behavior, what was Naruto teaching her at his house?

Hinata rubbed her body and legs, her hands moved through her hair. She began to breath harder…and harder…

"oh, Naruto!" her body shook and fell still for a moment. She panted for a few seconds and got out of the water, dried herself off and put on her clothes. She put the towel over her head to dry it off one last time when Neji stepped out from behind the rock. Hinata gasped when she took the towel off her head.

"Neji…" she said, stepping back, sheer terror gripped her heart.

"Hinata…why? Why do you continue to besmirch our family name with your ignoble behavior?" Neji said, his stance didn't change, his body language remained neutral.

"because…I miss Naruto and I love him very much" Hinata looked at the ground "Neji…nothing you can do can change that, not even killing me!"

"I didn't come to kill you Hinata" Neji said "I tried reasoning with my fists already, so I've come to reason with my words…Hinata…if the Hyuuga family is to continue flourishing, Naruto Uzumaki is not someone we want to join our household, you have a duty to your family"

"Naruto is my family!" Hinata shouted "I'm sure, someday Naruto and I will be married. Even without being affianced, Naruto is like my husband, he protects me and loves me. So it's my duty to be his wife and remain loyal to him!"

Neji gasped. Hinata walked slowly up to him.

"Neji, raising a family isn't about finding the strongest people to bring in. It's about loving everyone who is in your family, no matter how they disappoint you. If you and father can't be happy for us and love us…then I was never a Hyuuga to begin with!…and no matter how much I disagree with you…Neji…you're my brother, and I love you!"

Hinata threw her arms about Neji and hugged him tightly. He was shocked at what he just heard, even after trying to kill both her and Naruto, even after all he said to her…she still loved him? Hinata let go of Neji and started walking back to their camp.

"Hinata" Neji called. Hinata stopped to listen.

"even though I don't approve of your relationship…I know you and Naruto will be very happy together" Neji said.

"thank you Neji" Hinata walked back to camp.

_I wonder if any girls read this fanfic…hmmm…_

_The next part to "After a Midnight Meeting" will be released in a separate story! Be sure to watch for it!_


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